When a user downloads an app, the user may be provided with options of the types of notifications the app can receive. For instance, the user may indicate that the app can receive notifications, such as alerts, badges, sounds, or any combination thereof. In order to receive these notifications, the app must register with a third-party notification system, such as Apple Push Notification (APN) service or Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) service. In response to receiving a registration request from an app, the third-party notification system will generate a unique device token, which is provided to the app on the client device.
After receiving the unique device token, the app transmits the unique device token to the app provider (e.g., the app developer). Accordingly, the app provider will use the unique device token to provide information, such as communications, data, content, updates, or notifications, to the app. For instance, the app may be a messaging tool and the information may be a message intended for another user of an app. Alternatively, the information may be a notification generated by the app provider. The app provider obtains the receiver app's unique device token and prepares the information for delivery to the receiver's app. Once the information has been prepared, it is transmitted to the third-party notification service, along with the receiver app's unique device token. The third-party notification service receives the information and unique device token from the app provider and uses the unique device token to route the information to the correct device. Upon receiving the information, the client device uses the received unique device token to associate the information with the appropriate app and provides the information to the correct app.